


Coming Out

by DECAPUP



Category: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TV 2012), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - All Media Types
Genre: Coming Out, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Female Casey Jones (TMNT), Trans Casey Jones (TMNT), Trans Female Character
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-26
Updated: 2021-02-01
Packaged: 2021-03-18 19:40:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,361
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28997661
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DECAPUP/pseuds/DECAPUP
Summary: Yeah, Casey's always sorta wanted to be a girl, but that doesn't necessarily mean he's trans... right?
Relationships: Donatello & Casey Jones (TMNT)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 31





	1. Chapter 1

Casey haphazardly clambered over the rooftops of New York City. He was technically on patrol but, admittedly, he wasn't really paying attention to anything happening on the city streets below. He was too caught up in his own thoughts to focus on anything around him. Something had happened recently that had gotten him thinking about things he had never really considered.

Earlier that week he and April were hanging out down in the turtles' lair, as they usually did. Mikey was watching one of the tapes in his collection when something caught his interest.

"Hey wait, I thought that character was a girl? Why are they a guy now?" He asked, ejecting the tape looking at it as if it held the answer. Miraculously, it at least gave him a clue.

"Oh, this is the fourth season, the last tape I watched was the second season! There must've been some weird sex change episode or something in the third season!" Mikey beamed, impressed by his own investigation. He looked around for the laptop before realizing Donnie was using it.

"Hey! D! Can you look up what happened in season three? Why is one of the characters suddenly a guy now?" Mikey asked expectantly. Donnie glanced at him in acknowledgment before typing his questions into the search engine and scrolling for a bit.

"He's transgender, it looks like he came out near the end of your lost season" Donnie murmured, clicking back to whatever he was working on before the interruption. But Mikey wasn't done asking questions yet.

"Transgender? What's that? Like Transformers?" Mikey asked. Donnie let rolled his eyes but sat up straight, a clear sign that he was excited to explain something and even more excited at the idea that Mikey might actually listen to what he says.

"Well you see," he started, "Transgender people are people who are born in the wrong body. Their gender doesn't match up with their sex, so they'll usually transition to the gender that they feel is more correct for them". He smiled, happy with his explanation. His smile was quickly wiped away and replaced with annoyance when he realized Mikey was giggling.

"What are you laughing at?" Donnie huffed.

"You said sex!" Mikey snickered as he turned back to the TV to watch another tape. Donnie rolled his eyes again and quietly went back to work. 

Casey looked around the room expectantly, but nobody else seemed to be reacting to Donnie's explanation. He couldn't believe it. He had never heard of anyone being born in the wrong body like that before, it seemed Earth-shattering to him. He couldn't understand why nobody else was reacting like him at the time...

But now, days later, he was starting to realize why learning about it had made such a huge impact on him then.

He kicked a stray pebble that had somehow ended up on the rooftop and recounted all the feelings he's had towards the topic these past few days. At first, he thought it was a little weird, and he couldn't really grasp how someone could simply be born in the wrong body. But then he started to understand. After all, he himself has always been jealous of girls! He huffed at the thought. That definitely didn't mean he was transgender, it's probably normal for guys to want to try being girls sometimes! He had repeated that to himself a couple of times since the thought initially came up.

But now, up above the city, alone with his thoughts, he began to have doubts. He thought harder about it. Did he… want to be a girl? Has he always wanted to be a girl? Did he feel like he was supposed to be a girl? Would he be happier as a girl? He stopped dead in his tracks when he realized his answer.

Yes.

Yes to all of those things. Yes, he wanted to be a girl. Yes, he felt like he should be a girl. Yes, he would be so, so much happier if he was a girl. 

But what now?

He sat on the ledge of the building he was on and looked down at the empty streets below. He sighed and dug through his pockets, pulling out scraps of paper and paper clips. He dropped them off the roof just to watch them fall. 

He decided he would talk to Donnie about it tomorrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please feel free to correct my English and grammar! This is my first writing and I'm super excited to continue it!


	2. Chapter 2

Casey nervously trotted down the subway stairs closest to the turtles' lair, quickly making his way inside. Inhaling nervously he scanned the room to see who was there. It was just Raphael and Mikey. Raphael heard Casey walk in and greeted him without looking away from his punching bag.

"Heya Casey, howzit going?" he said, throwing a quick glance Casey's way before returning his focus to his punches.

"Uhh hey Raph, I was looking for Donnie, is he here?" Casey sputtered, trying to sound as normal as possible. Mikey looked at him questioningly but answered the question for Raphael.

"Don's in his lab, dude," he said, shoving a handful of popcorn in his mouth. Casey nodded to them both and made his way to Donnie's lab. He pushed the door open and tentatively poked his head in.

"Hey D? Can we talk for a second?" Casey asked, trying to hide the nervousness in his voice. Evidently, he hid it well, because Donnie didn't seem to notice it at all.

"Is it important?" He muttered, not looking up from his work. Casey tapped his foot for a second and thought about it.

"Yeah, I think it is," Casey said quietly, looking at the floor. Donnie pushed his work aside and pulled a chair closer to his, patting it to let Casey know to sit down. Casey pushed the lab door shut and quickly went to sit down, nearly tripping over his own feet due to his nerves. Donnie's generally annoyed expression melted into something a little more concerned.

"Are you alright Casey? You're acting really weird" he asked, moving his head down a bit to make eye contact despite Casey's efforts to avoid it.

"Yeah, no worries," he said, nodding sharply, "I just wanted to talk to you about the stuff you talked about a couple of days ago. The stuff about… transgender people and stuff". Donnie smirked a bit at Casey's awkward bumbling but nodded.

"What kinds of things are you wanting to know?" Donnie asked. Casey realized he hadn't thought of what to ask.

"I guess uh… how does someone know they're transgender? Is there any way to easily tell if someone was born in the wrong body?" Casey asked as he fiddled with the hem of his shirt. Donnie seemed a little confused but answered Casey's question just the same.

"Well, people just know usually. They can realize it at any age and for any reason, there's really no way to know for sure" Donnie answered. Casey didn't respond, so he figured that wasn't the answer he was looking for.

"I guess everyone asks themselves 'what if I was the other gender' at some point in their life, and transgender people's response is 'I would feel better' or 'I would feel more comfortable," Donnie said, content with his answer when he saw Casey react. He was quiet for a while.

"And then what?" Casey finally replied, nearly inaudible. Donnie did a double-take.

"What?" he asked, unsure if he heard Casey right.

"What happens after that? After… someone realizes?" Casey asked, his voice starting to noticeably shake. Donnie started to put the pieces together and responded in a new tone.

"Well, the first step after someone realizes they're a different gender is usually to find a fitting new name to match, I think," he said, pausing a second before muttering, "I think Casey is a gender-neutral name, though". Casey looked up at him with wide eyes, not quite sure how to respond. Donnie took that as a confirmation of his suspicions and continued.

"Then they usually socially transition, they come out to everyone and start using their new pronouns and name, along with changing their appearance to better fit their gender identity. After that, a lot of people choose to medically transition too. That's when they make their bodies fit better with their gender" Donnie finished, looking at Casey to make sure he was satisfied with the information.

Casey was bouncing his leg and nervously tugging at his shirt hem, obviously processing the information. He looked scared. Donnie moved closer to him and put his hand on his shoulder, causing Casey to look up at him.

"Casey…" Donnie said softly, "Is there something bothering you?" 

Casey sat in silence for a moment longer before his eyes started to well up. He looked down at his lap and wrung his hands together as he started to cry. Donnie took Casey's face in his hand and pushed his chin up so he was looking at him.

"Do you want a hug?" Donnie asked awkwardly, unsure of how to help the situation. Casey nodded and allowed himself to be enveloped in Donnie's arms. He started crying more, pressing his face into Donnie's shoulder. They sat there for a few minutes while Casey calmed down.

"So…" Donnie said, breaking the silence, "Am I the first one you've told?"

"I didn't tell you, you just like, analyzed me" Casey laughed a bit, exhausted from crying, "But yeah, you're the first to know".

"So, I should call you 'she' now?" Donnie asked, looking down at Casey.

"Yeah, but maybe not in front of the others yet, I'm not sure I'm ready for everyone to know yet" Casey admitted. Donnie nodded and wiped the remaining wetness from under Casey's eyes.

"And what about the name? Still Casey? Or have you thought of something else?" Donnie asked. Casey paused for a second before making her decision.

"Cassandra," she said, smiling, "But I'll go by Casey for short". 

"That works!" Donnie laughed before pulling Casey back into a hug, "I'm proud of you, Cassandra". Tears pricked at Casey's eyes again, but they were happy tears this time. She was excited to be who she is, and she was ecstatic that Donnie was so supportive. She thought about all the things she had to look forward to in her future. She was nervous but excited to come out to all the others. She didn't know how they would react, but that didn't matter to her right now.

Right now, she was thrilled.


	3. Chapter 3

It had been about a week since Casey came out to Donnie, and she was ready to take the next step.

The week had mainly consisted of her and Donnie hiding out in his lab together under the guise of working on a project together so they could talk about her transition. Donnie was making it a point to call Cassandra by her name any time he could, whether it was elbowing her and sarcastically whispering "good going, Cassandra" whenever she screwed up in a fight, or even just talking about her to Timothy while she was in the room. No matter what the situation was, Casey's face lit up every time.

Today, though, she had something important to ask Donnie. She hopped down the steps into the sewer, made her way to the turtles' lair, announced that she was going to help Donnie with his work, and quickly slipped into his lab. 

"Hey D," Casey said, taking a seat and kicking her feet up onto his worktable, "Can I uh… ask you a favor?"

"You can if you get your gross shoes off my table," he responded, patting Casey's leg to signal her to put it down. She obeyed and scooted closer to Donnie, lowering her voice to make sure nobody else could hear.

"I think I'm ready to come out to everyone else, do you think you could help me?" she asked, fiddling with the drawstrings on her hoodie. Donnie looked up in surprise, and then excitement, a wide smile quickly making its way onto his face.

"Yeah, absolutely!" he said, taking Casey's hand, "What do you need from me?" Casey thought for a second. She didn't really actually have much of a plan.

"I guess just be there for moral support? You can answer any questions anyone has! I know how much you like answering questions!" Casey teased, playfully punching Donnie in the shoulder. 

"Yeah, I can do that," he said, rubbing his shoulder, "And afterward you can, y'know, start actually physically transitioning!" 

Casey had been stuck in place when it came to her transition because she knew if she wore anything girly or started acting differently it would raise suspicion with the others. But Donnie was right, if she came out to them all, she wouldn't have to worry about that anymore! Maybe April would even take her dress shopping or something. Or actually… maybe Mikey would? He seems like someone with a sense of style. In any case, Casey was about to unlock a whole new world for herself. 

Casey had obviously been lost in thought for a minute, so Donnie attempted to break the silence and snap her back to reality.

"I could see if I can get some hormones in for you, I've been doing a bit of research, and feminizing hormones are weirdly easy to get ahold of," he said, turning to his laptop, "Actually, I could probably put in an order for you right now if you'd like."

"Oh my god yes! That would be so cool!" Casey said, standing up excitedly, "Thanks so much, Donnie!"

"No problem at all, Cassandra," Donnie laughed. The room went silent aside from the clacking of Donnie's keyboard and the hum of his various electronics. Casey pulled out her phone and googled the effects of feminizing hormones.

"Bingo," Donnie said, grinning and turning towards Casey, "They should arrive sometime in the next two weeks." 

"Hell yeah!" Casey said, excitedly high-fiving Donnie. She sat back down and looked to the side for a moment.

"So… it'll like, give me boobs?" She asked, looking back at Donnie. Donnie sighed and rolled his eyes, but smiled.

"Yes, it'll reshape your body a whole lot, including giving you boobs," he responded, trying (and failing) to hide the laughter in his voice. Casey said nothing, but excitedly fist pumped. Donnie tried (and failed again) to disguise his chuckle as another sigh.

"So now that that's settled, let's discuss your coming out," Donnie said, closing his laptop. Casey still had no idea what she planned to do.

"I mean, I guess we should just walk out there? And I'll be like 'hey everyone guess what!' and they'll be like 'what Casey, what?' and I'll be like 'surprise! I'm a girl!' and then…" she trailed off, unsure of what would happen next in her theoretical plan.

"And then everyone would say 'nice to meet you, girl Casey! You look very beautiful!', and then we would eat dinner," Donnie finished for her. Casey grinned and stood up.

"Okay yeah, let's do that!" she said, making her way to the lab door. Donnie followed close behind, unsure of what part of the plan she actually planned on using. 

Everyone was hanging out in the living room. Mikey and Raphael were playing video games, Leo was reading a comic, and April was playing on her phone. The only person not present was Splinter.

"I'll go get Master Splinter," Donnie said, quickly making his way into the rat's dojo. Casey took a deep breath and looked around the room. Everyone was so engrossed in what they were doing that they hadn't even noticed Casey standing there. Her entire body shook with anxiety, or maybe excitement? She figured it was probably a combination of both. Her presence was quickly made known when Splinter entered the room.

"You have some important news to share with us, Casey?" Splinter said calmly. He looked at Casey and shot up an eyebrow. He clearly noticed how anxious she looked, but didn't mention it. Donnie returned to his place by Casey's side for moral support. Everyone looked up at him, silent and expectant. Casey swallowed nervously.

"Uhh… Yeah… I do…" she muttered, wringing her hands together. She looked over at Donnie and he gave her an encouraging thumbs-up. Casey smiled and took another deep breath.

"After some uh… careful thought and stuff… I've decided that I'm uh… I'm a girl," she managed to say, not daring to look up at anyone.

And then, silence.

Luckily, there's one person in this home that seems to be determined to eliminate silence whenever possible.

"What do you mean?" Mikey piped up, looking at Casey inquisitively before realizing that she wasn't looking at him. He moved his questioning gaze to Donnie and he took the opportunity.

"Like your cartoon character, the one that changed gender. He was transgender, remember? Casey is transgender too, she's just recently figured it out," he said, his typical matter-of-fact tone faltering as the panic he felt for Casey settled in. Mikey looked at him blankly for a second before looking confused again.

"But Casey doesn't look like a girl?" he said, more like a question than a statement. Before Donnie could answer, Mikey was smacked in the back of the head by Raphael.

"That's cuz he- uh… she's new to it, shellbrain," Raphael said, seeming unsure himself. He looked up at Donnie for confirmation. Donnie nodded.

"Yeah, Casey's still at the beginning of her transition, she still has a long way to go, but coming out like this is the first step," Donnie said, scanning the room to see if there were any other confused looks.

And the silence settled in again.

Casey waited for what felt like an eternity for a response, still not looking up from the floor. Then, the response came.

"So, is your name still Casey?" Raphael asked, still seeming a little dazed from the whole situation. Casey finally took another deep breath and raised her head to make eye contact with him.

"Uh, Cassandra. I go by Cassandra now. But you can also still call me Casey, I still like that name," she said quickly and nervously. Raphael nodded and smiled a bit at her.

"Yeah, Cassandra, that's a pretty name," he said, looking around at his family, waiting for them to respond too. Splinter was the first to speak up after him.

"Thank you for telling us, Cassandra. I'm glad you are finally going to be able to live comfortably, please tell us if there's anything we can do to help out," he smiled gently. Casey may be afraid of rats, be she'd be damned if she said Splinter didn't have some sort of comforting aura. She relaxed her shoulders a bit, smiled, and nodded in a silent "thank you". Leo stood up from where he was sitting, walking up to Casey and reaching a hand out to her.

"It's good to have you on the team, Cassandra," he said, in his signature cartoony leader voice he picked up from Space Heroes. Casey scoffed but happily took his hand to shake it, smiling at him. 

Leo made his way back to where he was sitting and Casey looked around the room. It was silent again, but this time she could see everyone's faces. And they were all smiling encouragingly. Casey felt her eyes well up. She turned to Donnie and looked up at him. He put his arms out, inviting Casey into a hug, and she gladly accepted it. She buried her face into his shoulder and happily cried for just a moment before pulling away and wiping the tears off her face with her sleeve. 

"Does this mean you'll finally get new clothes?" April said, looking at Casey's tattered clothes. Casey nodded.

"I'll need someone to help though, I've never really shopped for my own clothes before," she laughed. April was about to say something when Mikey piped up again.

"Oh! I can help! I've always wanted to go dress shopping!" Mikey shouted, flapping his hands in excitement. Casey laughed and gave him a thumbs up.

Mikey does seem like someone with a sense of style, after all!

**Author's Note:**

> Please feel free to correct my English and grammar! This is my first writing and I'm excited to continue it!


End file.
